June 30
The U.S. EPA has identified 44 "high hazard potential" coal ash
impoundments across the country, warning they could pose health and safety
risks if they rupture.
The agency released the list of the sites June 29, 17 days after Sen.
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee,
criticized the administrationīs decision to keep the locations secret for
national security reasons.
Boxer said the public has a right to know the location of the sites, which
can contain dangerous toxins, including arsenic, selenium, cadmium and
chromium.
The high hazard potential rating is not related to the stability of the
impoundments, but rather to the potential for harm should the impoundments
fail, according to the EPA.
The list of the 44 sites is available online at www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccrs-fs/index.htm.
Contact Waste & Recycling News senior reporter Bruce Geiselman at
330-865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com
w w w . w a s t e r e c y c l i n g n e w s . c o m
copyright 2009 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.